Lunch at House of Jasmine

House of Jasmine was recommended to me by my buddy, Arlene. She told me about it last December but it was only last April that I remembered to try it.  I’ve seen this restaurant a lot of times since it’s on the same level as my favorite store, Muji in Harbour City. I always thought it was an expensive restaurant since it looked so classy and elegant. It was actually quite affordable. House of Jasmine is part of the Maxim group of restaurants.

This was one of the most beautiful and elegant Chinese restaurants I’ve ever eaten in in Hong Kong.

What sets this restaurant apart is their outdoor dining area with the view of Hong Kong’s famous harbour.

You can see a cruise ship docked and awaiting a fresh batch of passengers.

Peanuts and pickled vegetables are always present in Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. Did you know these are not free? As a matter of fact these cost HK$16. I wonder if I can say “no, we don’t want any peanuts?” If you find a small dish of chili sauce on your table be assured that has a price tag too. Sneaky huh?

peanuts & pickled veggies

Their dim sum comes a close third to my number one and number two favorite dim sum restaurants in Tsim Sha Tsui. What this restaurant excelled in was plating and food presentation. While other restaurants served dim sum in bamboo baskets or plain small plates, House of Jasmine went out of the box with unique platters and vessels that enhanced our dining pleasure.

They plated the baked pastries together. Both of the crusts were light and very crisp. The fillings were both very flavorful too.

golden turnip & yunnan ham puff pastry HK$33
barbecued pork pastry HK$30

top: turnip puff pastry
bottom: barbecued pork pastry

This was their version of Hainanese chicken. Good but a bit expensive for such a small portion.

conpoy poached chicken HK$68

fried shrimp dumpling HK$30

The rice was yummy but not fabulous. I just liked the presentation a lot.

chicken & mushroom rice in bamboo steamer HK$20

ham sui kok or deep fried sticky dumplings filled w/
dried shrimp & minced pork HK$18

Fried turnip cake is one of my favorite dim sum dishes. This one was a bit spicy from the X. O. sauce. Don’t you love the mini wok?

fried turnip cake w/ x.o. sauce HK$34

Have you ever seen soup served in a mini tea pot and cup? Too cute!

double boiled chicken & wolfberry soup
in purple clay cup HK$38/person

There were so many scrumptious looking Asian and Western desserts to choose from. I ended up with this refreshing mango sago with pomelo. The small brown square on the plate was super duper yummy coffee jelly.

chilled sago cream w/ mango puree & pomelo HK$25

We will definitely go back and try their main dishes. Specially those shown in the pictures below. I want to sit outside in December when the weather is nice and cool. Nice view, good food and cool weather. What more can I ask for?

I took pictures of the beautiful food presentation in their menu. It should give you an idea on their a la carte menu. They all look wonderful.

House of Jasmine menu
tea, beverages, winter delights, starters, bbq, soup,
shark’s fin & bird’s nest, abalone & dried seafood,
poultry & meat, seafood, vegetable, tofu, rice & noodle, dim sum

sets:
lobster & shark’s fin, abalone & shark’s fin, yashihama abalone,
lunch set, for 2 & 4

dimsum:
small/med/large & sweets, bbq/congee/rice/noodle,
signature/healthy/tofu, more than dimsum/steamed flour roll